Musings on dressmaking

Month: December 2016

Hello, everybody! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. I had a lovely time visiting family in the Midlands and down south, before heading back home to end the festivities. It’s safe to say I’ve indulged far too much, as one does at this time of year. I hope your Christmases have been just as enjoyable 🙂

I thought it was about time I shared my second Sew Dots project with you all (check out my first one here). It’s been so long since Sew Dots, but I fell ill when the time came to get some photos of my makes, so I didn’t get proper photos until recently.

The pattern: the Lilou dress from Love at First Stitch by Tilly Walnes, from Tilly and the Buttons. As always, the instructions are excellent and the end product doesn’t disappoint 🙂 Anyone else hoping Tilly will release another book sometime?

Modifications: I added sleeves (I used the sleeve head from Mimi in Love at First Stitch, and just drew a line at the length I wanted), side seam pockets (obviously), and I self-drafted a neckline facing instead of lining the bodice. I also added pom-pom trim to the hem as my tactile feature 🙂 I also may need to make a future alteration – even though I have been busy making toiles of this dress, this one has (annoyingly) still come up a little bit big. Sigh. My most recent toile fitted perfectly, so I think it must just be the weave of the cotton. Luckily, I think I’ll just need to take the side seams in a little rather than make any huge adjustments.

The fabric: a Dashwood Studios cotton from Plush Addict, which is still available at the time of me writing this. That hardly ever happens! Being a cotton, it was really easy to work with.

The cost: two metres of fabric at £12 each, an invisible zip and some pom-pom trim. Getting on for £30 for this one.

On the day I first wore this dress, despite being too disgusting to be in front of a camera, I still managed to host a cake day at work. I’d like to thank everyone who took part in our little dotty party – whether you baked, wore dots, or donated money. Between us all we were able to raise £120 for the RNIB! And another big thank you to Rosie Martin for thinking this whole thing up. There’s a round up of Rosie’s favourites here 🙂

If you sew, and if you use Instagram or Twitter, you must know about the #SewDots campaign. Sew Dots was brought to us by the wonderful Rosie Martin, author of the recently published No Patterns Needed. When she’s not sewing or writing books about sewing, Rosie does fantastic work for the RNIB – the Royal National Institute of Blind People – helping people with visual impairments use modern technologies, such as mobile phones. Sew Dots came as an extension of the RNIB’s Wear Dots Raise Lots, a campaign aimed at highlighting the impact of Braille, and Rosie, because she’s brilliant, thought she could rally up fellow dressmakers to try to raise even more awareness. The idea was to sew something dotty (dots like Braille), share your creation/s on Twitter or Instagram and donate £5 to Rosie’s Just Giving page. I sewed, and I donated, so let me share my first Sew Dots project with you.

The fabric: a white Swiss dot I picked up on eBay. I liked the idea of Swiss dot because I wanted my projects to have 3D elements. The dots on this fabric are perfectly reminiscent of Braille.

The pattern: I’m sure you’ve seen the latest release from Lisa Comfort at Sew Over It. My Capsule Wardrobe: City Break has taken the sewing world by storm. And rightfully so, everything in that e-book is beautiful! This is my first (of many, I’m sure!) make from it – the Alex shirt.

Modifications: just two. I used the tab from the Tilly and the Buttons Bettine pattern instead of the one provided, as the Bettine tab was a bit wider and less fiddly. Because I’m lazy – there, I said it. Also because I’m lazy, I was very naughty and didn’t bother with the buttonholes. The shirt is so loose fitting that it slips over my head just fine. In fact, I may even go down a size for my next Alex Shirt.

The cost: the fabric was £6.99 per metre. I bought three metres, but didn’t use it all. I used self-cover buttons, which were £2.50. In total, that’s about £23.50.

I think Rosie has struck gold with this idea, and I’m really hoping it sticks around in future years. This is something that means a lot to me. I don’t think I’ve mentioned before that my father is blind. He uses the services provided by the RNIB extensively, especially their talking book and Braille libraries. I know he would be lost without books. The work the RNIB does really is invaluable, and I’m a fan of any campaigns that support their work.